


Persona: For the Tainted Soul

by Accendere



Series: Written Fates [3]
Category: Persona 5, 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs
Genre: Caring Dazai Osamu (Bungou Stray Dogs), Caring Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs), Dark Amamiya Ren, Dark Kurusu Akira, Dazai-Typical Suicide Mentions (Bungou Stray Dogs), Fluff and Angst, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Nakahara Chuuya Is So Done (Bungou Stray Dogs), Soukoku are BEST BROS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-02-28 22:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18765334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Accendere/pseuds/Accendere
Summary: Nakahara Chuuya met the empty and blank boy assigned to him by Mori. As time passes, he gradually heals the boy's tainted soul.





	1. Chapter 1

"This boy is Amamiya Ren. He will be part of the Port Mafia from now on."

Chuuya stared at the boy with a calculating gaze. The boy, who heavily resembled a certain suicidal moron, did the same stare with dead eyes.

Chuuya was called in by Boss all of a sudden with no warning this afternoon. He thought that he may have created a mistake he wasn't aware of while ascending the building of Port Mafia's hideout.

Once he was in Boss's office, he didn't expect to see a child that looked very similar to Dazai in front of the Boss's desk looking as if he was waiting for him.

From the few seconds of their staring contest, Chuuya examined the boy's attire.

Pure mafia black if he would say so himself, the kid is wearing a simple long coat that reaches past his knees along with long boots and pants as well as black gloves. The only highlighted feature is the maroon-colored scarf that is wrapped around his neck.

He instantly realized that it is the scarf that the Boss usually hangs over his shoulders untied.

Just like how Boss gave Dazai his coat and gave Chuuya Randou's hat.

"Well, I will leave him to you, Chuuya-kun."

Huh?

Chuuya faced his superior, who had a mysterious smile in his face that both have the hint of amusement and fondness. However, it did not get rid of his air of authority upon his statement.

After all, the Boss's orders are absolute.

He nodded, "Understood."

* * *

They haven't spoke a word to each other.

The kid was quiet as hell and Chuuya thought he might probably be mute since he hasn't heard a single sound coming from him aside from his breathing.

He has some experience with children since Sheep had taken some in back then. Just remembering them already caused a pang in his heart. He remembered how they would always cling to him happily and forcing him to play with them. Sometimes, when he sees a child, he can't help but wonder how they were doing right now.

But the kid walking right next to him is the complete opposite of those children. His expression is almost completely devoid of life and he looked like a puppet who is only moving through the command of strings.

Chuuya doesn't know how to even start a conversation with this kid. But the kid isn't the mackerel, he wouldn't give annoying comebacks or tease him 30 minutes after they met... probably.

But first things first, he needs to learn whether this kid has any combat experience and check if his body is in any shape to do anything. He internally groaned, he wished the Boss had given him some details before just suddenly assigning him to take care of the kid.

While dwelling deep in his thoughts, Chuuya didn't noticed the boy's curious gaze towards him.

* * *

"So, Amamiya. Do you know how to fight?" Chuuya asks.

The two of them are now in Chuuya's apartment, sitting in the living room across to each other. It was snowing outside and damn cold so the heater was turned on.

Chuuya used to live in Kouyou's residence but soon lived on his own because to him, it was a little awkward for a 16-year-old boy to stay there.

It's a good thing that damn mackerel is on a mission in Tokyo today, so they wouldn't have much interruptions for a few days... that is until whether that bandage-wasting bastard decides to finish early and break into his apartment.

The boy nodded apathetically.

"What kind of ability do you have?" He asks next.

"...Persona."

So he isn't mute at all. But his voice sounded more like a whisper and Chuuya probably wouldn't have heard it if it weren't for the silence within the apartment.

"What does it do?"

"...It summons Arsene."

Summon? So is it sort of like Kouyou's Golden Demon? And also, Arsene? He felt like he heard that name before...

"Do you have complete control over your ability?"

Silence.

"Okay." Chuuya stood up from the couch, "Starting tomorrow, I'll train you on using your ability better. And also, do you have a place to live?"

The boy shook his head.

Good grief. Chuuya scratched the back of his head and let out a sigh.

"There's a spare bedroom at the end of the hallway, you sleep there."

"Huh?"

Chuuya took a second to examine the new expression of the boy's face. Obviously, this kid is apparently not used to being cared for as his expression was a wide-eyed, dumbfounded surprise. It honestly hurt his heart a little, and he noticed the kid's grip on his other arm suddenly tighten.

...

He should lend some of his clothes first.

"Take a bath first, you can use my towel. Change your clothes, the cabinet is in the back." Chuuya said, glancing at the clock to see that it's already 6:30.

The boy stared at him still wide-eyed.

* * *

The kid had bandages???

Come ON! He does  _not_ need another Dazai!

It wasn't obvious, the kid wore one of his long-sleeved shirts and still kept his scarf on. But he managed to catch a glimpse of a white cloth wrapped underneath the clothing from the sleeve.

The racing inside his mind regarding the bandages, however, was put aside by another concerning thought.

Amamiya simply stared at the dish of curry in front of him without doing anything. He looked up to Chuuya when the latter called out to him.

"What's wrong? Eat." He simply said.

After another few seconds of staring and hesitation, the kid finally relented.

The boy helped him wash the dishes afterwards before going into his new room.

Chuuya wondered what tomorrow will bring.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amamiya's training progresses smoothly but poor boy's got a nightmare a few days later.

The first couple of days wasn't all that hard.

Boss had given him some time off so he can focus on Amamiya and it went quite well than he anticipated.

First of all, the kid was a very quick learner and did not need repeated instructions, instantly understanding them in just one time.

In regards to the kid's training, Amamiya is as fast as an assassin.

He's proficient in the use of knives and guns (a reason which Chuuya doesn't know) and Chuuya wondered if Amamiya even  _needed_ a mentor since his capabilities already far exceeded that of the lower-ranking members.

Next is his ability...

Chuuya isn't even sure if the kid could  _not_ control  _him_.

His Persona (Whatever that is), Arsene, is a sentient being like Golden Demon and he is able to  _openly communicate_.

"Surprised, Nakahara-san?" The winged being with the gentleman's outfit chuckled.

"Just call me Chuuya, like everyone else."

Then again, the kid didn't  _actually_ say he could  _not_ control Arsene.

All in all, there wasn't any problems.

* * *

The kid remains the same from the few days he's been here.

Amamiya still remains very quiet and hesitant and is constantly baffled and dumbfounded when treated with normal care such as giving him something or making him eat a meal.

Was he alone before this?

Even though the kid constantly reminded him of that suicidal asshole, Chuuya couldn't help but see himself in that kid as well.

It was because he used to be like that when Sheep took him in.

"...Huh?"

Chuuya heard some noises coming from the next room.

Is that kid still awake? He usually sleeps early.

He got out of the bed and exited his bedroom and quickly made his way to the other room. Just before grabbing the doorknob, the noises got louder and is that... crying he hears?

"Amamiya!" He immediately opens the doorknob and got a look at the state the kid is in.

Amamiya is thrashing and turning, his face contorted to that of pain. It's clear as day that he's having an awful nightmare right now.

Chuuya hurriedly approached him, gripping his shoulder and started to shake him, "Hey, wake up!"

He shook him harder and Amamiya's bloodshot eyes opened as he instantly sat up, gripping his chest tightly and started hyperventilating under cold sweat.

"C-Chuuya...san...?" Amamiya muttered between his panting, he hadn't noticed that he had grabbed Chuuya's arm as if it was his only lifeline.

Chuuya gently rubbed his back as Amamiya tried to calm down, his breaths eventually turning even and the his iron grip on his arm soon loosening.

"Are you alright now?" Chuuya asks, his tone now filled with concern that is usually not expressive.

"..."

Amamiya wrapped his arms around his knees and buried his face in them.

He began to cry.

Chuuya didn't know what kind of nightmare he just experienced but he knew it must be surely traumatizing enough for the kid to be reduced to this state.

He wondered if that experience is the reason why he looked so dead.

As each minute passed, his crying got louder and sounded more choked and strain that it almost sounded like he was coughing.

He showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

He isn't good at comfort as much as Kouyou does but decided to try the most basic form of comfort he could think of and wrapped his arms around the boy.

Being within physical contact with Amamiya, he realized how thin he is and he could almost feel his bones if it weren't for the layers of clothing and bandages within.

The atmosphere around them got dark and warm all of a sudden and Chuuya looked up to see Arsene sitting close to them with his large dark wings wrapped around them in an attempt for comfort. The expression on his black metallic mask remains unchanged but Chuuya could sense the sadness radiating from the winged being with how the latter remained silent and placed his hand behind his user's back, gently rubbing like how Chuuya did earlier.

The three of them remained like this for most of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chuuya asks Mori regarding Amamiya's past and finds that they are a lot more alike than he originally thought they were.
> 
> He also discovers some new things regarding his student's ability.

Chuuya opened his eyes, finding that he's not in his bedroom.

Memories of the events last night came flooding back inside his mind as he sat up, however, as he did so, he felt a slight weight on his stomach and realizes that it is Amamiya's arm. He turns his gaze sideways only to see Amamiya clinging to him as if he were his favorite teddy bear or something.

Even while asleep, the kid still looked like a mess and he could easily tell that his eyes are freshly stained with tears, meaning he must've cried for hours before he passed out.

Chuuya decided not to wake him up and gently moved away his arm as he got out of the bed, adjusting his blanket before exiting the room.

He then got dressed up and left a note behind for Amamiya.

He has a ton of questions for Boss.

* * *

Chuuya became well-known within the Port Mafia in just a short time.

Due to the fact that he is an extremely powerful Ability-user as well as being partnered with the "Demon Prodigy", almost every member (even the ones who were in the Mafia before Chuuya has) feared him as the monstrous gravity manipulator. The only members who doesn't are Kouyou, Hirotsu (who pretty much acts like everyone's grandpa) and Dazai's drinking friends, Ango and that oddball Oda.

As such, when he approached the high-ranking members guarding the Boss's office, it didn't take more than a second for the guards to immediately recognize him and quickly stepped aside.

Chuuya let out an internal sigh, this is pretty much the reason why he treats his subordinates well than a normal mafia should, because he's getting tired of all the tension.

He managed to at least loosened up those who are under him to the point where they were now comfortable enough to use his first name.

"Boss, it's Chuuya."

"I want cake!"

"But, Elise-chan~!"

Chuuya halts to examine the scene before him for a moment. The doll-like blonde girl is standing on the office desk with hands on her hips while pouting childishly, with her guardian(?) slumped in front of her in the form of begging. They seemed to have just noticed him as they both gave a curious gaze at the petite redhead.

"Ah, Boss..." Chuuya's serious tone changed to that of an apologetic one, "I apologize for intruding on your personal affairs..."

"Oh, no, no. It's fine." Mori waved nonchalantly as Elise got off the desk while he stood up, "I promise I'll buy you cake later, Elise-chan~!"

Elise pouted while huffing, "You better!"

Once she exited the office to who knows where (probably to play pranks on the mafia members), the guards closed the doors for privacy.

"So, What brings you here, Chuuya-kun?" Mori asks with his head resting on his fingers laced together, sounding a bit giddy for some reason.

"I wish to know more about Amamiya Ren's background." Chuuya answered straightforwardly.

Mori's smile slowly faded from his face but gave an understanding look, "Ah, I see. Very well, I will indulge you. Please take a seat. It's a little long."

Wait, what? Just like that?

Why didn't he ask why?

Chuuya took a seat on the couch that was in front of Mori's desk.

"Have you ever heard of the Kirijo Group?"

Who in the world doesn't? Especially when they are said to be involved with almost every aspect of daily life.

Chuuya kept his comments to himself and simply nodded, "Yes, sir."

Mori continued, "They are originally part of the Nanjo Group. You could say that the Kirijo Group is like an offshoot of them. They're smaller, but still rather powerful and wealthy."

Huh. This is first time hearing this.

"Despite this, the Kirijo Group remains to works closely with the Nanjo Group and has a business motto of "Two in Harmony Surpasses One in Perfection"."

For some reason, why did that motto reminded him of himself and Dazai?

Mori gave away a dark chuckle, indicating that they are now at the serious part.

"Being a globally operating multinational trading company, there are many possibilities that they could have some secrets. In fact, the Public Security Department had been trying to unveil that darkness for 10 years... which brings us to another topic."

A dark glint flashed in the mafia boss's eyes.

"Have you ever experienced the  _extra hour_ , Chuuya-kun?"

"Huh?" What is he talking about?, "What do you mean by that?"

"A phenomenon that occurs for an hour every night as a time anomaly that takes place during 12:00 AM, and serves as the 25th hour hidden between one day and the next. As the phenomenon takes place, normal people, not even most Ability-users, are transmogrified into coffins and remember nothing that happens during this phenomenon once they awaken. Because of this, the general public is unaware of its existence. This is called the  _Dark Hour_."

What...?

Wait, then does that mean...?

Mori seemed to have read his thoughts, "If you are thinking that Dazai-kun may have experienced this, you are wrong. He is no exception despite his nullifying ability."

Oh.

"It will take too long to explain everything so I'll just get to the point." Mori said nonchalantly, "The depths of the darkness of the human consciousness take physical form during the Dark Hour, they are called Shadows."

Monsters?

"I know this is quite difficult to believe and understand but it's all true." Mori said, "How the Dark Hour came into existence is what you might want to ask and the answer is quite simple. Upon discovering the existence of Shadows, the group decided to perform experiments on them to refine and acquire their powers, as they had the property to manipulate time and space."

This... is getting way too long and farfetched the more he heard.

Then again, he had a god inside him.

"Their project was carried out in the man-made Tatsumi Port Island, where a laboratory was built for such a purpose. During the course of conducting the research, the Kirijo Group collected Shadows  _en masse_  and found out the prophecy of The Fall, or the end of the world."

_"Huh."_

"They accepted the prophecy and even tried to help achieve it by continuing their experiments. However, during the final stages of their research, one of the scientists, one you could say a  _good person_ , interrupted the experiments, which caused one particular specimen to escape and made a significant impact on the time continuum, creating the Dark Hour. Most of the scientists have died and it caused quite an incident 10 years ago, too."

Wow. So this is the Kirijo Group's darkest secret, huh. They're probably going to get executed if the knowledge of this ever comes out.

"But you don't need to worry about that. The Dark Hour's gone now." Mori revealed.

"What? How?"

Mori chuckled, "That's actually what  _I_ would like to know, maybe a miracle happened. Oh, it disappeared recently at the end of January."

Wait, what?

"...Last month?"

Mori chuckled lightheartedly as he nodded in confirmation, "That's not all, Chuuya-kun."

"Hm?"

"Aside from the people of the Kirijo Group, there is also another exception who can move during the time of the Dark Hour. They are Persona-users."

Now  _that_ greatly piqued his interest.

"Persona? You mean..."

Mori continued, "In order to better understand the Dark Hour, the Kirijo Group rounded up children on the streets and experimented on them. Basically, they were artificially given a Persona in order to become weapons for research."

Chuuya felt his clenched fist tightened.

"How a Persona-user awakens, naturally or artificially, is beyond my knowledge. Though, Ren-kun might know more about it than I do."

"..."

"Even though the Dark Hour has disappeared, it did not stop some people from continuing to research about Shadows. In fact, one of the surviving scientists from 10 years ago went into hiding and secretly continued his research regarding Shadows and Personas. It's because he knows Kirijo Takeharu would have stopped him if he knew. This research involved kidnapping children from the streets and forcing them into experiments that would be regarded as inhumane, even for the Port Mafia." Chuuya didn't miss how the Boss's smile broke for a moment, it surprised Chuuya actually, because it was something which ever rarely happens.

"Considering that his base of operations is the quiet town of Inaba, where almost nothing ever happens there, the amount of specimens he has are scarce and he had to make good use of them so that his research would last longer."

"Boss..."

"Hm?"

"One of those few specimens... is Amamiya, isn't it...?"

"Correct." Mori nodded, "Now, Chuuya-kun. I'd like to ask you a question."

"What is it?"

"What would you do if someone you care about, one whom you have been with for a long time, dies right in front of your eyes?"

Chuuya instantly thought about Sheep.

He remembered how they took him in when he didn't have any family or relatives.

He remembered how he was treated like he was part of their family.

Thinking about these thoughts made him almost forget that they had betrayed him.

He must've been thinking for too long as Mori decided to continue on without him answering.

"The children that he had kidnapped... They weren't allowed to take a single step outside and were always together in the same plain room with nothing but each other."

...

"So when all except one had met their painful demise, how do you think the surviving one felt?"

He didn't want to think about it.

"Naturally, he had awakened his anger and finally killed the one who had caused him and his friends so much pain and suffering for so many years. But it gave him no satisfaction. He only felt empty due to the fact that everyone whom he had spent the most time with are no longer by his side forever."

"...Boss."

"Yes?"

"May I leave now?"

Mori nodded in understanding, "You may. I did talk for quite a while."

As Chuuya stood up and exited the room, his thoughts have been constantly tracing back to how both he and his student are so similar.

But unlike him, the kid clearly remembered everything.

For now, he didn't care about how Boss knew all this stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished this chapter at 1:30am... (+_+)
> 
> How DID Mori knew about all this stuff? Hmm...


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chuuya returns to his apartment during a snowy evening...
> 
> But he wasn't expecting any of the things once he opens his door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been wanting to do this fluffy chapter!

He and that kid are a lot more similar than he had originally thought.

That would make Amamiya's behavior a lot more sense.

Especially what happened last night.

No wonder that the kid would often looked shocked. He had no one by his side to care for him before  _that_. He remembered how thin and bony the kid is when he hugged him in comfort last night, he must've been through starvation to the point where he's gotten used to it.

He wondered if he's awake yet...

Chuuya finally reached his apartment, adjusting his scarf for a bit as snow started to pile up on his hat.

After taking the elevator to the top floor of the complex, Chuuya hesitated taking the doorknob after hearing strange noises inside. Is the kid doing something?

He opened the door, "Hey, What—"

"Chuuya~!"

He fought the urge to slam the door right into  _his_ face.

"...Since when the hell did you came back, you damn mackerel?"

Dazai just gave one of his usual childish and teasing smiles that often made Chuuya to want to beat the crap out of him but for now, he doesn't feel like it after what he heard earlier and just shoved the bandaged brunette aside and closed the door as he hanged his coat and hat on the rack.

"Since this morning." Dazai answered, "I was so bored earlier that I figured that I just wanna break in here and annoy you, you know?"

Chuuya snarled, "You break into my home almost every single day, you fucking asshole."

Dazai ignored his comment and continued speaking happily. For some reason, his joyful voice sounded a lot more genuine instead of fake, "When I came here earlier, I didn't expect to find someone whom I have so much in common! It made me so happy~! Where'd Ren-kun come from, anyway!?"

Ren-kun? They're on first-name basis already after meeting in just a few hours?

And what did he meant when he said they have  _so much in common_?

"Chuuya-san! You're back!"

Chuuya shifted his surprised gaze to the approaching boy, now looking nothing like the mess he was earlier or last night or looking like the emotionless doll from the past few days. His appearance didn't change, but his eyes seemed to have more light in them than the dull gray ones. The expression on his face looked a lot more lively than pale but he could barely see the bags under his eyes from last night, but the gloomy atmosphere around him seemed to have subsided.

With the kid's sudden change and knowing that Dazai is probably behind this, Chuuya can't tell if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Though, he's more willing to lean onto the former.

"Dinner is ready." Amamiya said, almost shyly.

What?

Chuuya walked over to the living room and saw a nice meal readied on the dining table. It looked like a normal meal that a normal family would be having but that concept seemed a bit foreign to Chuuya himself, as he never had any.

He is absolutely sure that the kid cooked all this, because Dazai's cooking always looked like it came straight from the garbage. He realized that there is a crab dish, which Chuuya recognizes as Dazai's favorite canned crab.

He also notices a bottle of wine that he recognizes, he looked over to his shelf and found that the same brand as the one on the table is still inside.

Chuuya took a moment to process all of this before shifting his gaze at Dazai with an accusatory expression, "What the hell did you do to Amamiya?"

The damn mackerel dramatically clenches his heart, "I'm hurt, Chuuya! I did not do anything incriminating to Ren-kun! I just knocked on the door, met Ren-kun, and we hit it off splendidly!"

"What the hell do you mean  _hit it off_?" Chuuya glared at Dazai, when the latter didn't answer and just kept on smiling, he slowly faced Amamiya, who seemed to be not listening to their conversation and looked like he was daydreaming.

Time seemed to slow in Chuuya's mind when he heard his muttering or rather, singing.

"Suicide, suicide... Oh, how I love to die..."

...

...

...

...

...

"You know what? Forget it. I'm not even gonna ask how his behavior changed." Chuuya simply gave up. He internally sighed sadly, because he could guess what might be the reason for Amamiya's fixation.

_"So when all except one had met their painful demise, how do you think the surviving one felt?"_

It obviously wasn't just anger.

He pushed these thoughts at the back of his mind for now, he could deal with them later.

The food is getting cold.

The two similarly-looking boys held looks of confusion at Chuuya's dismissal, but Dazai just smiled and shoved the student and his mentor towards the table.

* * *

  _"Chuuya~!' Dazai playfully knocked on the door, humming his favorite suicide song while waiting, "A dog shouldn't keep his master waiting, you know~!"_

_..._

_Strange, that hat rack would usually march outside and kick his ass even from a tiny bit of insult. Maybe, he isn't here right now..._

_However, he heard slight footsteps coming from inside and Dazai may have great hearing, but those footsteps sounded way too light to be Chuuya's._

_Slowly, the door creaked open and and he could only vaguely see the person who opened it due to the darkness inside._

_The door was eventually widely opened and now Dazai could get a clear view of the person._

_This person was not Chuuya, he looked way too young (probably around 10-years-old) and had hair which was similar to his own. Dazai almost felt like he was looking at a younger version of himself from the way this boy looked like an emotionless doll that was almost completely devoid of life, a feeling that he felt most of the time when alone._

_What truly gained his attention, however, was the object within the boy's hand._

_A rope._

_For Dazai, it took him less than a second what it was for._

_"...Do you like suicide?" He asks blankly._

_The boy's eyes widened and, after a few seconds of silence, slowly nodded his head._

_"OMG!!!"_

* * *

What the fuck.

 _That_ was their first conversation...?

For fuck's sake, screw it.

"So good! It really tastes great when cooked!" Dazai compliments while eating his favorite food.

"Isn't the damn canned crab that you always buy already cooked, though?" Chuuya asks.

"It is, but Ren-kun just made it all the more delicious!"

Chuuya had to agree. The meal was great and delicious, it tasted a lot better than the ones he cooked. It was a bit surprising for a 10-year-old kid to be able to cook this good.

"Since when did you learn to cook? Considering your age." Chuuya asks curiously. He wondered if Amamiya is willing to share about his past.

Amamiya swallowed his food and replied nonchalantly, "I used to live on the streets. So I had to learn some skills."

Huh. He didn't look the least bit uncomfortable when responding. No one would've thought that suicide could easily break someone out of their shell, well, aside from Chuuya, considering his partner.

"The streets?" Dazai gazed at him with interest, "This dinner looked like it was made by a professional chef."

"Stealing was the only way I could think to provide myself." Amamiya said, "I just happen to steal a bag with tons of cookbooks inside. I happened to have bad luck that day, I stole the wrong one because the bag with the cookbooks wasn't the one which had money in it. So I just read them to alleviate my boredom, but it just made me more hungry and many of its contents got stuck in my head. But I never actually got the chance to try it out until today."

"Were there any crap recipes?" Dazai asks.

"Yep."

Chuuya had been wondering about something, "By the way, where'd you get the wine? The same brand I got is still in the shelf."

"The shelf that you wouldn't let me touch..." Dazai pouted.

"The last time I let you, you stole half of it to who knows where!"

"We had a drinking party when I did that!" Dazai happily exclaimed, "Even though Odasaku kept telling me to return them."

"I bought them." Amamiya answered.

"What?"

"Me and Ren-kun went grocery shopping earlier!" Dazai merrily answered, "He didn't have it in him to use the food in the fridge without permission so we just went to a nearby store! I also told him you love wine so he bought the nearest brand he could buy!"

"Huh. I thought you would've egged him on raiding the fridge."

"I did. But Ren-kun's a little stubborn."

That's nice.

Chuuya notices Amamiya pouring a glass of milk and placed it on his side.

"...What's this for?"

"Dazai-san told me your growth is stunted. I heard milk is supposed to help you grow so..."

In no time at all, Chuuya stood up and grabbed Dazai by the collar of his shirt.

"YOU GODDAMN—"

"Ren-kun, let's tie a noose and jump off this building later!"

The kid's eyes sparkled excitedly, "Okay! I'll go get the rope!"

"STOP IGNORING ME, YOU BANDAGE-WASTING MACHINE!!!"

Chuuya kicked Dazai out (literally) of his apartment once dinner was finished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ren and Dazai sure hit it off, didn't they?


	5. Chapter 5

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY, YOU DAMN MACKEREL!?"

Dazai childishly stuck out his tongue, "I said~, anger makes you smaller! Why do you think you haven't grown an inch since last year?"

"YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!

The mafia grunts watched a bit nervously at the two arguing teenagers while waiting for the persona in charge of their deal. While this was nothing new to them, it was still slightly terrifying as they are constantly reminded of the two's capabilities, despite being younger than all of them. However, they do feel a little safe with Chuuya compared to Dazai, who had no qualms of sacrificing any of them. It's mainly because the redhead treats them well and even cares for their well-being, a trait that is very unusual for a mafia member. However, when in a bad mood (which is most of the time when with Dazai), all of them knew better than to make any mistakes under his watch. He had broken many furnitures during his many childish banter with the bandaged boy, and that was just scratching the surface.

And now there was a new addition to the duo's shenanigans.

"What in the world are you even doing, Ren?" Chuuya asks as he lets go of his hold on Dazai's collar.

"Searching on the internet. Turns out milk doesn't actually make you grow taller." Ren casually replied without looking away from the screen of his flip phone, "...Damn, this place has shitty Wi-Fi."

"Why the hell are you even looking into that!?" Chuuya yelled.

"I was just curious whether or not milk can make you grow taller. Now I'm just searching for new suicide methods." Ren looked back at his flip phone, seeing that it has yet loaded to the website he clicked, " _Sigh_ This is gonna take forever..."

As the two are arguing while the kid is simply looking into his phone, one of the new recruits leaned beside the one next to him, whispering, "Are they always like this?"

The other grunt nervously chuckled before nodding, "Yes, though I'm not sure about the boy under Chuuya-san's care." None of them have actually been informed much about the new kid aside from the fact that he is the redhead's student. In all honesty, it had shocked them all when they heard that a 10-year-old boy is going to be part of the fearsome mafia infamously known throughout the underworld.

_"We can only hope that the boy is the same as his mentor..."_

* * *

Well, the deal went downright shit.

Lots of backups of their enemy showed up faster than they anticipated. Turns out, they have connections to different organizations who have the guts to face the Port Mafia. It's an all-out gunfight in the large alleyway right now.

The new young grunt lowered his head to cover from the massive barrage of bullets coming his way. His hands were shaking in sweat as he holds his machine gun with few ammunition left. He's still just an inexperienced recruit who only had basic training not even worth mentioning. He looked around him, seeing that the other grunts kept on shooting and firing with everything they've got, ready to risk their lives on their missions.

The bullets targeting him stopped abruptly, he hesitantly looked back towards their battling leaders and the one student fighting off their enemies. He had heard from his senior that Chuuya-san does not completely rely on his ability and instead merely uses martial arts to fight most of the time, it shivers him to think about the possible devastating capabilities of _For the Tainted Sorrow_. Dazai Osamu, on the other hand, is just lazily watching while doing the least amount of work, just simply shooting with his handgun, however, each shot is very precise and it never missed their target even if it did not killed them yet.

As for the frizzy-haired young boy...

He is fighting as much as his mentor, fighting like a trained professional despite being his first mission. He would either instantly kill his enemies with a single, deep slice on the throat while knocking them out with martial arts (which the style looks almost the same as Chuuya-san). He looked like he was gracefully dancing while attacking and dodging the bullets that come his way (although, he did got a few scratches). The grunt sees a nearly-downed man attempting to shoot him with his handgun and quickly pulled out his own machine gun, repeatedly shooting the guy dead before he could hurt the boy.

The new recruit could feel the boy's gaze towards him but it disappeared no sooner as they were still a couple of enemies left.

At least they all survived.

* * *

None of them died but many were injured.

All of them quickly got rid of the bodies and went back to the base to get medical attention. Most them only got shot in the least vital parts and only needed some bandaging while the rest were confined.

The clinic is supposed to be a quiet place meant for the injured to rest.

But that doesn't apply to a few others.

"If you could've just got rid of them all in an instant, I wouldn't have this bullet in my shoulder!" They heard the Demon prodigy whine childishly.

"You brought it on yourself because you're such a lazy-ass asshole!"

None of the injured grunts seemed bothered by their loud bickering, apparently used to their everyday quarrels.

"Thanks for earlier."

He jumps at the sudden voice besides him. Turning around, he sees Chuuya-san's student staring at him with a smile of what it seems to be gratitude.

"If you hadn't saved me, my injury would probably be more severe." He then began muttering with disappointment "I couldn't hope to be one-shotted since that guy's grip was so unsteady that he'll probably just hit my leg or something..."

"O-Oh, it's no problem, sir..." The grunt told him.

Much to his surprise, the kid suddenly started laughing shortly before it ended while wiping a tear from his eye, "Why are you calling me 'Sir'? This was my first mission! Are you a new recruit or something?"

He isn't sure if the kid just took a wild guess or that he's really perceptive, "Yes. This was actually my third mission ever since I joined."

"Huh." He said before grinning a few seconds later, "Then I think we'll get along just fine!" He held out his hand, "You probably already knew but my name's Ren Amamiya."

He stayed quiet for a moment before gripping his small hand and gave it a slight shake, "...Mitsusaburo Oe."

"Quite a long first name you got there!" Ren cheerfully commented, "I'll just call you Oe-san!"

"S-Sure..."

"Ren, here are the bandages Dazai-san asked for." A new voice suddenly boomed behind Oe, who turned out and nearly scrambled off the infirmary bed in fear if not for Ren stopping him while attempting to calm him down.

"AAAHH!! WHAT THE HELL!?"

"Oe-san, chill! He's a friend!" Ren assured him but it did little to calm him down right after seeing a large demonic being with black wings.

The other grunts also flinched when they saw the gentleman thief and even the two teenagers stopped arguing and starred laughing loudly when they saw their reactions.

"I apologize for scary you. My name is Arsene, by the way." His tone CLEARLY indicates that he's not even the least bit sorry for scaring the poor grunt.

This is gonna be a long day...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mitsusaburo is the main character of one of Kenzaburo Oe's notable works, The Silent Cry.
> 
> Also, I accidentally wrote Akira instead of Ren in Arsene's line before I edited it. Omg, that was so embarrassing...


End file.
